Dragons Amongst the Stars
by etheral-23
Summary: Life did not stop after Alduin's defeat. The people of Nirn continued to advance and grow, as they sent forth to conquer the star they'll reveal to the galaxy things that were considered just myths and superstition, showing both wonders and horrors. In a quest across the stars, a hero must fight to stop a shadow older than the gods themselves from consuming all life in the galaxy
1. Chapter 1

_I'm writing this fic because i'm tired of nof finding a SINGLE fic about the people of nirn advancing and reaching the stars, eventually meeting the aliens of Mass effect. I mean come on people, wouldn't it be awesome to read about the Nirnians revealing to the galaxy the existance of magic and gods?_

_I don't own neither the Elder Scrolls nor Mass Effect franchises, only OCs belong to me._

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After Alduin's defeat at the hands of the Dragoborn Reginleif Fireblade, a nord woman, she sent forth to stop the rebellion of the Stormcloaks, for she knew that if Skyrim separated from the Empire, the Thalmor would attack, and there was nothing they could do to stop them.

Even though they were victorious, they could not celebrate, for the Aldmeri Dominion began preparations for another war, this time, to destroy the empire once and for all, and destroy all races of men.

Reginleif discovered of the Dominion's plans to deactivate the great Towers that separated Oblivion from Nirn, bent on recovering their immortality regardless of the consequences. Believing that by deactivating the Towers, the eternal cycle of the death would and Mundus would dissolve back into its original primordial state, unbound by the laws of physics and reality, time and space would have no meaning, neither would despair or discord. This was but a part of their plan, the other was to erase Man from Nirn to erase the very idea of mortality, and then 'tame' the dragons to complete their goals of achieving divinity. But Reginleif knew better, she knew that if all the Towers were to be deactivated, then a great calamity would be triggered, just like many deactivated towers triggered the Oblivion Crisis.

Reginleif went to Paarthurnax the Old, ancient dragon and younger brother of Alduin, and told him what she had discovered. The ancient wyrn agreed that such thing would destroy the entire world, and both mortals and immortals would perish. For that, the dragons, having acknowledged the Dragonborn as their Thuri(Overlord) after Alduin's defeat, followed her command to aid the Empire and stop the Aldmeri Dominion.

There was little the Thalmor could do against hundreds, if not thousands, of dragons from all over Tamriel swooping over them, reducing their troops and strongholds to ash. Reginleif herself, mounted over her trusted friend, Odahviing, led the final assault against the Thalmor in Summerset Isle, sparing civilians and others noncombatants, and reducing the damage to the Isle to a minimum. She wanted to stop the Aldmer, but without creating resentment and hatred towards the Empire, for she knew that sooner or later it would create another conflict, leading to more pain and hatred.

It came to surprise to her, to find out how life on their lands actually was. On the Isle, she found that most of the population lived in poverty, while nobles and politicians bathed in luxury, uncaring about the problems of the 'simple folk'.

The common folk of the Aldmer celebrated in joy when the Empire conquered Summerset Isle, and gave them the aid they so desperately needed. Reginleif did not stop at the war, she acted as mediator between all nations and races to finally unite, not all of Tamriel, but the whole Nirn, under one single banner.

The Empire would be a beacon of hope that would banish the shadow that had fallen over Nirn for so long. A place where all could share their ideas and live in harmony as together they could build a better future.

Though this new future could not be build from one day to the other, old grudges and distrust still ran too deep. Neither the elves nor the beastfolk wanted to be part of an empire that would be ruled by selfish nor arrogant humans who would still cling to old hatreds, they demanded a new ruler to be crowned. They wanted someone who would be fair to all, someone wise who would know what to do in times of strife, someone who came from the people, someone who went through more adversities, trials and sacrifices than any other mortal alive.

They wanted their ruler to be… Reginleif Fireblade.

At first, Reginleif was refused to be Empress, saying that she was a warrior, not a ruler. But it was then, that Paarthurnax the Old, told her that she was already a fair and wise ruler, for she was the Thur of all dragons, and it was her who had gave them freedom and a new purpose, to maintain the balance of Nirn.

Reginleif argued that proving the power of her Thu'um would not be enough for mortal kind to follow her, that she wasn't made to be a ruler. Paarthurnax then told her that she was born for that very purpose, for the blood of ancient kings ran deep through her veins…

The blood of Talos.

Reginleif Fireblade was a Septim.

The whole world was shocked when the truth revealed and more than ever they were convinced. Who better than a Septim to lead a new and stronger Empire? Reginleif realized that the people would only follow her, and so, she agreed to take the throne and guide the Empire to a new age.

Emperor Titus Mede II, with great honor, placed the crown on her head on the coronation day. The dragons swore to serve her and her line until as long as the blood of Dragonborn burned bright within her descendants. Thus began the Fifth Era.

Under her rule, the islands and nations all around Tamriel integrated into the Empire, old lands like Akiviri and Atmora were recolonized, during the process it was discovered that there still were small groups of human settlers who still inhabited those lands. Everyone was entitled to worship whatever god they believed in, be it Aedra or Daedra, but there were limitations towards the worship of Daedra, if one were to harm another or plot against the world itself by the orders of a Daedra, they would be severely punished. Because of that, normally the only Daedra that were openly worshiped were Azura, Jyggalag, Meridia, Mephala, Malacath and Boethiah who were considered the more 'benign' of all the Seventeen Princes, most of these worshiped mostly by the dunmer.

Every Fighters' Guild in Nirn was united into one organization, though separated in sub-divisions, each of them with their code and history. Currently, the Companions are held as the strongest and most honorable of them all. The same happened with the Mages' Guild.

The Thieves Guild in which she had been a part of, became something different, inspired by their companion's honorable ways, they became a force of good, who would steal for the unworthy and give to those in need. Sadly, only few of the Guilds of Nirn turned to this new found way of 'thieves with honor'.

Her rule lasted for decades, the people prospered, there was peace, there was truly understanding between all of mortal kind. As her time on this world approached to an end, she passed down the crown to her son, who was guided by her mother's ideals. Reginleif asked her good friend Odahviing to ride through Kynareth's kingdom one last time. They flew to the Throat of the Word, where she bind her farewell to Paarthurnax and then closed her eyes for the last time.

The world mourned as one when news of her passing reached their ears. Forever she would always be remembered by her deeds, by her ideals, and by her many, many titles.

Reginleif the Fierce, the Kind, the Wise, the Mighty, the Cunning, the Fair, and so on, but, only one title would stand above all others.

Reginleif the Dragon Queen.

Not long after her passing, she was made a saint to all mortal races, who would forever watch over them from Aetherius.

Time passed, technology changed, cities grew, new ones were made. The combining of magic and technology created many wonders in their world, new things were discovered, the lifespan of men increased to that of three centuries at least, argorians and khajit reached a lifespan comparable to the humans, and elves reached a lifespan of five to six centuries. Yet their way of living, of fighting, did not change much. Soon, came the time when the Nirn was no longer big enough for all of them, and so, they embarked on a quest to conquer the stars.

Julianos was the first world to where they laid their first steps outside of NIrn, they dared not to desecrate their moons, who they believed to be corpse of Lorkhan. On the planet, they found an amazing discovery, ruins of an ancient civilization.

What could this mean? They asked themselves. The question of someone being out there was answered. But were there other gods in another Mundus? They asked Azura for answers, the goddess of Dawn and Dusk said that deadra and aedra were the only surviving race of deities in the universe, the rest, were all long dead. When questioned about the ruins, the goddess said that if was not for her to say, for mortal kind had began a new journey, and they needed to finish it by themselves, to prove that they were ready for the dangers that existed outside their Mundus.

The ruins were studied, they discovered the name of the race that once had owned them. The Protheans. It was clear that they did not possess magic. The Nirnians weren't surprised, without gods, there was no way they could tap into the ancient power. But their technology was outstanding, the discovery of a new element, that was dubbed Element Zero, opened the way for them to travel at the speed of light. They managed to combine magicka, as they did with most technology, with this element, allowing them to create larger and more powerful ships

Another great discovery was that of data that spoke of a giant device just on the edge of Mundus. The device was called a Mass Relay, an object that concentrated unfathomable quantities of dark matter, allowing ships to travel from system to system in an instant.

The colonization of Julianos and the discovery of the Mass Relay network marked the beginning of the Sixth Era.

As more worlds were colonized, the races of Nirn (Now calling themselves 'Nirnians' in general) discovered that their presence on new worlds awakened the magic in them. At first, there were concerns about daedra, like Mehrunes Dagon, taking over those worlds. But they were laid to rest when they learned that not only magic awoke within the planets the inhabited, but also the presence of their gods in them, that way, they would protect them from the evil lords of Oblivion.

Two centuries passed, their society reached its apex, free from the horrors of war.

But on the 263th year of the Sixth Era, the colony of Shanxi goes dark.

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_Hope you enjot it, please leave reviews!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry it took so long guys, but like i said before in my other fic, just started collage and haven't have much time. But here you go!_

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Hannah Terim the Crimson-Blade sighed as she watched the casualty reports on her datapad. They were still two hours away from Shanxi and innocent people died each minute they wasted. She still could believe what was happening.

Aliens. At last they made contact with an unknown species from another world, and it went downright _catastrophic_. Research ships were trying to activate a second Mass Relay discovered in the opposite edge of the system, not ten minutes after its activation, more than a dozen ships flashed out of the Relay, destroying everything in their path. Two-hundred forty-four innocent lives lost without a word.

Hannah was _enraged_, it was an act of cowards to attack unprovoked, killing civilians and non-combatants. True, nirnians had done similar things in the past, but all that was long in the past with their ways of warfare changed when Reginleif the Dragon Queen took the throne.

"Commander?" A voice that carried an air of elegance brought her back from her train of thought. She saw a tall figure entering war room. It was a male, his eyes were bright yellow, and his stature would mark him as an Altmer, but his skin and hair was snow white.

He was a Falmer, a Snow Elf.

Not long after Empress Reginleif's son, Emperor Tarium, took the throne, they were approached by an elf with skin and hair as white as the snow. The elf claimed to be Knight-Paladin Gelebor, last of the snow elves, and that he was an acquaintance of the late empress who he had helped in obtaining Auriel's Bow to stop the vampires from darkening the sun.

Gelebor said that he had managed to make contact with falmer who showed capacity of reason and speech. He had asked the emperor for their help, and in return, they would serve the empire. The emperor, being kind-hearted like his mother, agreed to aid the betrayed race.

It took decades of alchemy and magic, but with every new offspring they were closer to return to their former appearance, until they reached their former glory, free from the blindness which the dwemer had cursed them with.

Hannah stood up from her chair, and saluted by placing a closed fist in front of her chest.

"Captain" She addressed with respect.

"At ease Hannah" Replied Captain Salendor Kerum, after years of her serving under him, he didn't feel the need of formality… though the nord descendant refused to be address him in such a way. The captain was currently wearing a masterfully crafted white armor, typical of what most Falmer wore.

Technology had not changed much the way they fought. Now armor was integrated with systems like HUDs, shields, potions dispensers and such. Even though ranged weaponry became more advanced melee combat was not abandoned, kinetic barriers worked in collaboration with the users' latent magicka, making the shields stronger so they could get close and fight like their ancestors intended. It would take a strong sniper rifle shot, being under constant fire for at least a few seconds, or a strong spell to drain their shields.

Bows and crossbows were still used, they were perfect for stealth, they were silent, could bypass shields and barriers with ease, and the arrows' tips were made to pierce even the strongest alloys. Not to mention that whether through enchantment, potion or technology, their bolts and arrows could do devastating attacks that assault rifles could not.

"Thinking about the situation in Shanxi" It was more of a statement than a question.

"We're still hours away, and the only defense force they have is the city Guardian Corps, and a handful of Legion detachments" Said grimly the nord, running a hand through her black hair, she looked at the holographic map that showed Shanxi in front of her.

"How many troops do they have?" Asked the Falmer.

"Two hundred warriors, half of them melee specialists the other half are ranged, twenty-five mages, and twenty snipers and master archers"

"Have we gathered more intel on the enemy?" Asked her superior, resting his hands over the metallic table.

"It seems that they managed to capture one of the aliens" Said commander. With a wave of her hand, the hologram changed to an image of the alien race. "During interrogation they were able to translate the alien's language through spells. They call themselves 'Turians', said that they were here to stop our 'foolish' races from unleashing a catastrophe by activating a dormant Relay" The commander snorted. "'Foolish' was to challenge us to a fight" No one knew war better than the Nirnians, they were always fighting, be it in war or peace there was always something or someone, bandits, mercenaries, slavers, pirates, monsters, cults, daedra. They endured and fought back, as Nirnians always have.

"Foolish was to shoot first and ask questions later" Replied Salendor with a frown. "All of this could have avoided had they just spoken to us first, now blood is needlessly being shed"

"And we will make them pay for each drop of blood innocents had shed" Hannah bowed. Salendor frowned.

"Not all conflicts must end with more blood being spilled Hannah"

"True, but they seem to be a proud people, until we show them that we are not to be fucked with then they will not listen" Salendor sighed.

"Then lest pray to the gods that we can end this before it escalates"

"Yes" Hannah couldn't take her eyes off the intelligence report. It said the detachment on Shanxi was the 23rd Pheonix Patrol Legionnaires… that was Jarom's patrol. "_You better be careful there you bastard or I'll kill you myself" _She begged the gods to allow him to come back to her.

"Something is bothering you" Her captain said.

"How did you know?" She asked, her voice almost devoid of emotion, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"I've known you for a long time now old friend, I can tell when you feel distressed" The concern in his voice was obvious.

"It's just…" She sighed. "The Legion on Shanxi… Jarom's there" Salendor's eyes momentary widened before softening.

"I'm sure he's alright, Jarom's a great warrior and you know that" She didn't respond, her fear for his life was too great. "Now, when this all over and if he still hasn't given you a ring, then I'm going to knock some sense into that thick skull of his" He achieved his objective, gaining a small laugh from her.

"Get involved into that which doesn't concern you, and I'll chop off your cock" Said the commander with all too sweet smile.

Salendor, with eyes as wide as saucers, just stared at her long time friend and subordinate.

"_Well…_" He though. "_...at least she's being less formal with me_"

"Sir" Called an argonian communication's officer. "We're receiving a fleet-wide transmission from admiral Hackett"

"Patch it through"

A small silvery crystal, shaped in the form of a rhombus, emerged from the table, it levitated to the middle of the room and then stopped. The crystal began to shine, waves of magical energy streamed from its core, it expanded in size while taking the shape of a man. The man was dressed in an armor that resembled the ancient ebony mail from the Fourth Era, aside from black it also had painted the colors blue and red on it, giving it a more distinguished look. On his back he wore a long black cloak with the draconic imperial symbol weaved in it.

The man's faced showed he was just starting to enter his older years, a scar ran from his right cheek to his upper lip, indicating his experience in battle. His graying fair hair was brushed all the way back while his only facial hair was a goatee and a mustache. His piercing blue reflected great wisdom and a strong will. It was clear that the man was of nord descendant.

He was Steven Hedjar Hackett, a legend amongst both the navy and the Legion. Due to his prowess in battle, tactical mind and leadership skills he was called the 'Battle-Jarl'.

"_My brothers and sisters_" His voice echoed through the crystal. "_Once again the children of Nirn march to war, once again we shall be tested on the battlefield, and once again the gods shall stand witness to our courage and our might_" His voice held a conviction like no other. "_No matter who we face in the battlefield, no matter how strong the enemy is or how much dire the situation, I know that all of you shall fight with honor to the very end and make your ancestors proud" _The crew of all the twenty ships of the fleet roared together in a 'Rah!' "_Remember why we fight, we fight for our people, for our families and friends, for the Empire, for Nirn and all her worlds… the eternal queens Alessia and Reginleif are with us, the gods are with us, and like the heroes of old we shall stand fast as winter and fierce as fire, we… shall triumph… Hackett out_" The image of the admiral blinked out of existence, as the crystal slowly descended.

Hannah Crimson-Blade smirked a predatory smile.

"No speech like a battle speech"

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Kheelmarch, Shanxi's capital and only city so far, was truly a sight to behold, a symbol of Nirnian construction prowess for such a young colony. The city was located in a plain near large forests, it stretched for almost thirty miles, carrying a population of over 200.000 inhabitants made up of almost all Nirn's races.

Tall buildings of gleaming silver, spires of gold, large and colorful gardens bathed the city in some kind of ethereal beauty as if the gods themselves had forged it.

Now it was all burning.

David Anderson, a man of redguard and breton linage, narrowed his eyes in anger. How dare these invaders destroy all their hard work? What right do they have to attack one of their worlds and claim the lives of their citizens?

Reaching into the collar entrance of his MK II Imperial Class armor, he pulled out a hammer-shaped amulet. He traced the carvings with his thumb before tightening his grip.

"_Oh mighty Talos, grant me and my brothers the strength to banish these invaders and protect our people, merciful Mara and Azura, guide with open arms those who have fallen so they may rest forever in bliss_"

"Sir" A voice called for him. Turning around he saw a young nord with black hair, which fell to his shoulders, and blue eyes. The young warrior was wearing Powered Ebony Armor, on his hips rested two blades of Nordic design.

"What is it Jarom?" Asked the commander to his legate.

"We're receiving a transmission from general Williams"

Reaching into one of his armor's containers, Jarom pulled out a crystal, extending his arm with his palm open, it began to shimmer and float. It floated through the air before standing between Anderson and the nord.

A ghostly, yet very lively, figure appeared from the crystal, a nord dressed in a variation of imperial armor made especially for generals. The armor was dark crimson in color, while other plates were painted silver, a long cape flowed gracefully on his back. The man's right hand was rested over the hilt of a glass sword.

"_Commander, what's the situation?_" Inquired general Williams.

"We're setting up an ambush to strike a Turian platoon headed this way" The general nodded, indicating him to continue. "We have five archers ready and armed with explosive bolts, they along with two mages will strike from the surrounding buildings"

Turians had no magic, and so, they had no way of protecting themselves against magical attacks or detect someone else's magic. The ground war was pretty much one sided, the aliens' didn't expect their shields to be so strong, nor that they would use that to get close and finish them off with swords and such. Their meele weapons completely bypassed the Turians' shields, and pierced their armor with ease.

Even though in this time and era normal people could at least do adept level spells only those truly experienced and trained in the arts of magic were called mages. They just needed to throw a few fireballs to render them to ashes. And if they brought ground vehicles with them, they could just switch to shock and lightning attacks to destroy their shields and scramble their systems.

Another important factor that played to their advantage was Conjuration. Centuries ago, when the first mass effect weapons were created, it was discovered that mass effect technology was _absolutely useless _against magically attuned creatures, such as dragons, daedra and spirits, thought undead that had been recently brought back to fight could be killed with just a shot to the head.

Anderson remembered how more than thirty Turians were viciously massacred by four Dremora Lords. Their cries of terror, the sound of endless shots being fired to no effect, he specially recalled with disgust how one of the dremora cutted in half a turian, from head to bottom. It wasn't until a turian used a grenade that they finally managed to kill one of the powerful beings, the explosion occurred too close to the dremora, causing a piece of shrapnel to pierce its brain, then another turian, one who had managed to sneak up behind one of the daedra, stabbed it in the head with a combat knife. When they finally realized how to kill them, only three turians had survived.

It was going so well, according to their intel the turians had lost more than sixty percent of their forces, while they had suffered just a few casualties… then the aliens decided them to bomb them from orbit. Half of the city now laid in ruins, thank the gods for their secret underground bunkers, they had saved many civilian lives. But many of his men weren't so lucky, forty six good men and women died at the hand of a coward's tactic and died not by facing their enemies and hearing their cries in the battlefield… but by wordless cannons in space.

"_A fine plan commander, now, I have an order I need you to carry out_" Williams voice ringed hollow, as if carrying a heavy burden. Anderson realized that this wasn't because of his responsibility of trying to keep so many people alive, no, this… was something else.

"What is that you need general?"

"_After you are done with enemy, reanimate their corpses and use them against the turians_"

Anderson's eyes, along with Jarom's, widened in shock. The general was ordering them to use… necromancy, he wanted them to desecrate the dead by using them as slaves. Nobody, well, almost nobody, objected with using daedra who didn't really die to spare soldiers' lives, but… to do something so horrible as to use the corpse and spirit of someone who should be resting in peace, enemy or not was… beyond deplorable, it was considered evil by the empire.

"S-Sir" David stuttered. The expression of his face was unreadable. "Are… are you really asking us to…?"

"_I'm not asking you Anderson, I'm _ordering_ you to use necromancy and fool the turians with the bodies of their brethren_" Williams voice hissed with anger, not at Anderson, but at himself. His eyes softened, and sighed. "_I know I'm surely going to be expulsed from the Legion, that my name will be cursed for years… but I can't be selfish, I need to save as many people alive as I can… and we've already lost so many warriors_"

"But sir!" Exclaimed Jarom. "Help is surely on their…!"

"_I won't take chances, not with all your lives Jarom!_" The general's image's head snapped in the nords direction. "_I'll take full responsibility for what happens here, neither you two nor the mages will be held responsible… you have your orders, William's out_"

The image of the general winked out of existence, the crystal slowly floating its way back to Jarom's hand. Anderson sighed, and ran a hand over his face.

"I…" A new voice was heard, both men turned towards the newcomer, she was a short nord woman, with fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing light armor that was covered by robes, the robes had many magical runes running over the edges. The woman was a mage, but not any mage, she was their best Battlemage. "…couldn't help but overhear" Her voice dripped with sadness and shame, for something she hadn't even done… yet.

"Kahlee…" Anderson said softly. "I'm sorry it came to this"

"It's not your fault David… I understand what we must do, and I'm sure that the other mages will as well… if this is the only way we won't lose more people than we shall do it"

Jarom could only shake his head, with a heavy sigh, he ran a hand through his black hair.

"May the Gods forgive us"

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_Hope you enjot it, please leave reviews!_


	3. Chapter 3

_i know lots of people don't like that i don't explain everything in one go, but that's how i work, i explain the changes and things as i introduce them, have a little patience._

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**_"_**_Daughter of Akatosh, Champion of Shor, Sister of Talos, Scion of the past Dragonborns, heir to the throne of the Sundered Kings, a mighty warrior, a noble thief, a wise mage, a leader loyal to her people and master of all arts of might, magic and stealth, she was all these things, but above all she was my friend… and that is all that mattered to me" From 'The Dragon Queen' by Erandur, Priest of Mara._

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Sergeant Tarkus marched through the broken alien streets, his squad of twelve men carefully following suit, their rifles aimed and ready to gun down anything that moved. Tarkus couldn't shake the feeling of dread washing over his very being, ever since they first set foot on the planet it had been nothing but a massacre.

Their enemies were not just one race, but clearly an alliance of multiple species, though many looked remarkably similar. At first, they laughed when they saw their enemies wielding archaic weapons, like swords and such, but the firsts howls of laughter had quickly been replaced by cries of shock and fear.

The alien's shields were stronger than theirs, though not by much, it was enough for the aliens to get close finish them off. Kinetic shielding proved to be useless against a blade, and their armor shredded like paper at the weapons' cold edge. Tarkus remembered how a single one of those aliens, one of those with feline appearance, killed six armed turians by himself, with nothing but some kind of axe.

Then there was those… powers of theirs, at first they thought it was some kind of biotics that allowed them to channel more electricity and shot burst of lightning, but the theory was quickly shattered when they started shooting fire and ice from their hands as well. And that had been the _civilians _who had no kind of equipment whatsoever. No tanks of fuel, or nitrogen, _nothing_.

And the… creatures. Spirits, when he first saw the video feedback from one of their soldiers he felt the need to empty his stomach's content. The aliens just… summoned the things from no-where, the monsters just appeared in spheres of purple light, and immediately began to butcher them.

What was worst was that their weapons had been completely useless against those things! Their experts had told them that the creatures seemed to emit a powerful field of energy like the ones the aliens projected, only on a completely new scale, as if those creatures were _made_ of that energy. That energy completely nullified or repelled mass effect fields, so whenever their grain-sized bullets, still covered by the residual energy of the mass effect field, came close to the monsters, they would just bounce off or stop moving all together.

They had to kill those monsters with their combat knives, but their armor was too strong and they would have to be really fortunate for grenade's shrapnel to pierce those things brains as they had done before, attacking the head was the only viable option, if you could get close enough to those things without getting cut in half that is.

Despite the terror their enemies inflicted upon their hearts, Tarkus couldn't help but feel… awed. When they first set foot on the planet, they were astonished by the aliens' city. The materials were unlike nothing they have ever seen before, some of the silver spires of the city had gigantic _crystals_ suspended on top of them, magnificent gems that shined with pride.

Their botanic parks' trees were taller than any other tree you could find on a garden world, all bearing different fruits and flowers. Their scans showed that trees _adapted _in less than a _few seconds_, to any new life form that was in close proximity, and so, produced fruits that were edible to both levo and dextro species.

It was… humbling, really, to see what these species were capable of.

"I don't understand why we're still here" Said in a hushed tone one of his soldiers. "They must have reinforcements underway"

"Keep quite" Another one of the soldiers said, annoyed at how his comrade might draw unwanted attention.

"You all saw what they can do on ground fighting, I shudder to think what they are capable off in space"

"I said quite!" Hissed the turian as silently as he could. "You'll attract… Arg!" A painful gurgle escaped his mouth as an arrow pierced through his armor and into his chest. Red markings shined around the shaft before promptly exploding in a blaze of fire.

"Ambush!" Shouted Tarkus, quickly he dived for cover behind some rubble. "Take cover!"

His orders would be to no avail, for in that moment, a couple of sniper shots took out two of his men, while a blazing ball of fire crashed to the ground setting three more of his comrades ablaze. Three more arrows found their mark on two turians, one in the head, while the other two buried themselves onto another's chest.

Tarkus's head snapped from one direction to another, trying to find the source of the attack, looking quickly at nearly every window in buildings surrounding them, he saw two snipers covered in armor, gunning down more of his soldiers. The sergeant aimed his rifle at the window and fired, some of his shots successfully impacted upon one of the snipers in the head, where the shields are weakest, bringing down his, or her, barrier as a bullet pierced the helmet and skull. The sniper's head snapped back as he fell, his companion quickly took cover and dragged the body out of the window.

Then, as fast as it had begun, it stopped. Turning his head around, Tarkus saw that all his squad, save for himself, was dead. He uttered a quick prayer to the spirits, asking them to guide their souls. He was surrounded, he knew he couldn't run, but thankfully his cover protected him from the enemies' sight, that would give him enough time to come up with a plan.

Or so he thought.

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Inside one of the buildings, a Maormer, or Sea Elf, woman casted Detect Life with both of her hands, her shining white eyes quickly went to remaining red spot that indicated the presence of a living enemy.

"Over there" She pointed at a pile of rubble with her colorless, nearly transparent hand.

Her companion, a Bosmer sniper nodded to her, he took aim at the rubble and pulled the trigger. The shot went through stone and dust, a second or two latter, and a turian feel dead, a pool of blue blood quickly forming around his head.

The bosmer then tapped two fingers at the side of his helmet, activating his communicator. "That's all of them, sir"

"_Good work, stand by while the mages proceed_" The commander's voice spoke through the device.

"Understood" Once of the communication had ended, the wood elf shook his head and cursed. "Fuck, we're actually doing this"

"So it would seem" Answered his companion.

"Let's just hope Meridia doesn't punish them too severely"

"If she doesn't punish necromancers personally, then the mages have nothing to worry about"

"Yeah, just wait until the Vigilants get a hold of this, I'm telling you, the general is going to be knee deep in shit"

"Court marshaled or executed?" Asked the maormer, who didn't seem to care about their leader's fate.

"Does it matter? The man's honor's completely gone, you know what he plans to do with the undead later" His companion merely shock her head. "He is going to send over the turian's ground base at the outskirts of the city, making the turians think they're just wounded…" The maormer's gasp interrupted him.

"What?!" She nearly shouted. "I thought we were just going to use them as cannon fodder, but to go so far as to fool the turians with their brethren like that?" She was absolutely disgusted. She wanted these bastards out of their world as much as any of her comrades, but what was the point if they violating everything the empire stood for, she would rather die with her honor intact.

"Get's worst" The bosmer shock his head "Once they're in, the general's gonna make them…"

* * *

Kahlee sighed as she looked upon the fallen bodies of their enemies, what she was about to do went against everything they had been thought, not just when they first learned how to cast spells, but when they first learned how to speak. Arkay, god of the living and dead, says 'Honor the earth, its creatures, and the spirits, living and dead. Guard and tend to the bounties of the mortal world, _and do not profane the spirits of the dead_'.

One of the worst things about necromancy was how easy it was to learn it. It was basically the same concept as summoning a daedra to the mortal plane from Oblivion, and so mages could figure out necromancy on their own. Find the spirit, bound it to your will, and make it manifest in physical form. Normally you had to reach carefully into Oblivion to decide which kind of daedra you wanted to summon, feel its power, its emotions (mainly its rage) and make sure you could control it.

But for necromancy things acted differently, as the body and soul are bound together, even after death, one could just use the corpse as a siphon and instantly find the spirit and trap it inside the body, normally most spirits wouldn't put much of a fight and submit easily.

"Arkay forgive me" Whispered the battlemage, then she proceeded to silently chant the conjuration spell as she placed her palm over the body of the fallen turian, a few seconds later, the body rose to the ground, emitting moans and groans as it stood up. Kahlee watch with disgust just how the alien's eyes lacked any sort of life in them. Around her, the bodies of the dead turians rose as her brother and sister mages reanimated them.

From the sidelines, a group of warriors that were assigned to protect the mages watched in disgust the scene in front of them.

"Fucking disgraceful" Said a breton, whose large and sturdy build could make him pass for a nord, he spat on the ground to express further what he thought of the situation. His short hair was already graying and the scars on his face showed his long experience in battle. He was dressed in Powered Orcish Armor, donated with many symbols that marked him as a member of the Legion.

"We've got our orders Zaeed" Said Jarom to his comrade, the nord wasn't happy with them either but he couldn't defy the general's command.

"'Orders' my grandma's tits" Snarled the older warrior. "Listen to my boyo, I've served in the Legion for over a hundred and fifty years, and not once my commander officer ever ordered the use of necromancy"

Jarom really wished he knew how to respond to that, but to be perfectly honest, he wasn't all that interested in defending what little remained of the general's honor. So he settled for changing the subject.

"A hundred and fifty years, eh old man?" Said in an amused tone the young nord as one of his eyebrows rose. "I'm surprised that you're still just a grunt"

"What can I say? Being in charge of a bunch of milk-drinkers ain't my style" The breton seemed to ponder for a moment. "Thinking about leaving the Legion maybe, after this 'ole damn thing is over"

"What would you do?"

"Perhaps I'll fulfill a life-long dream of mine, to start my own Fighter's Guild"

"Your own guild huh? Got a name for it yet?" Asked the nord in interest.

"I was thinking about something like the 'Sunstriders' or 'Red Moons' or something like… bah, I'll come up with something eventually" Zaeed then smirked at the Jarom. "You know, you're not half bad with a blade boy, maybe you'll like to join me"

"Nah" The nord dismissed the idea with weave of his black armored hand. "No thanks, got my own plans" His thoughts went to a certain black haired nord woman with a spirit as fiery as a star, bringing a sincere smile to his lips.

"Whatever, guess it'll just be Jessy, Taby and me against the galaxy" Jarom gave him a curious look.

"Family?"

"What? No" Said the breton, reaching onto his back he pulled an M-7 Lancer assault rifle, and from his hip, he pulled out a glass waraxe. "These are my girls Jessy and Taby, say hi girls" Said Zaeed, lifting the weapons respectively as he 'introduced' them.

The nord just stared at him.

"…Charmed"

* * *

General Desolas was NOT in a good mood. This was to suppose to be an easy campaign, but quickly turned into a complete nightmare. They thought they would find primitive dumb race, instead, they found an _alliance of races_, who all wielded powers beyond their comprehension, and whose weapons and tactics, though one would consider them 'primitive' were terrifyingly effective.

His pacing was so fast that it threatened to make a hole in his chamber. He listened intently to the recordings his troops began to take the moment they first set foot on the planet.

_"The aliens, spirits! They're shooting lighting and fire from their bare hands!"_

_"What are those things?! ARGH!"_

_"Someone get a medic, he needs this… ice chunk removed!"_

_"Private Carsekus has gone mad, take him out before he kills any more of our men!"_

Desolas couldn't remember how long he had been listening and watching the recordings, hoping to find something. What? He did not know. Something to give them an edge against these aliens, to help them understand their abilities.

His experts had told him about that strange energy signature that did not seem to emanate from the aliens per say, rather that the energy flowed _through_ them from… somewhere else. Where? They did not know.

He was growing tired of failures. Tired of believing he had seen everything these aliens could do and then eating his own words when they managed to do the _unbelievable_. For example, a single one of those aliens, charged alone at a small squad of turians, just before they could raise their weapons and finish him off, he had screamed, as if issuing a challenge, a battlecry… making his troops run away in terror.

Desolas had been so enraged when he found that they had just run away that he executed the cowards himself. But when he heard of more of these aliens doing similar things, he realized that it was another ability of theirs, so he couldn't afford to execute more of his men for abandoning their duty when in reality was the aliens fault.

How were they doing it? How could they just bend the laws of reality so easily as if were just a child's play? How could he defeat them?... But most of all, Desolas wondered, how could his people learn to harness that incredible power?

* * *

Inside the turian's base of operations on the planet's surface, the medical team was baffled.

"They have no pulse, they're clinically dead!"

"Can't you hear them? They are pain and dead people don't feel pain!"

"Take of their armor, we have to know what we're dealing with" The chief medical officer ordered.

One of the nurses began removing a female soldier's chest piece, he turned around to place over the other table and when his gaze once more went to the fallen? soldier, his heart skipped a bit.

There, over her chest, was a circular device with a beeping red lip, going 'bip, bip, bip'. Looking around the room, he saw all of his colleagues looking at the same devices on the chests of their patients, a feeling of dread soon washed over them.

"What in the spirits…"

* * *

A flash of light, an explosion, and before they knew it, half of their base was burned to the ground.

Inside a tall, yet now battered, building. Anderson observed a 'projection' coming from a Divination Orb. Despite the name, the Orb was actually an observation device that worked like a telescope, with a rage of miles it showed almost anything in its line of sight.

David Anderson frowned disapprovingly at the scene, they should have been there, facing their enemies face to face instead of hiding like cowardly skeevers. What was worst was the desecration of the dead… not even the enemy deserved such treatment.

The general stood behind him, staring at the horizon, his gaze lost in the lights of the twilight.

"Sir…" Began Anderson, deciding not to push around the bush and said what he felt what all of the troops felt. "…I hope you're hanged for this"

"You and me both Anderson…" Admitted Williams, had there been another choice he would have taken it, but he couldn't risk the lives of his men. "…you and me both"

"My lord!" A female raspy voice shouted behind them. Turning around they saw an orange fur and black stripped Ka Po' Tun running towards the general. "I've managed to receive a transmission sir" She beamed a big smile that showed her fangs. "It's the Crusader, Admiral Hackett's flag ship!"

* * *

"Sir!" The turian private called for the general.

"By the spirits, what is it now?" Grunted Desolas as he approached the bridge.

"We're detecting multiple FTL signatures" The general peered over the privates should to look at the screen that showed many dots that symbolized the crescent mass effect signatures.

"All ships prime weapons, I want our shields at maximum!"

* * *

"One minute to exist FTL sir" Announced a breton on the bridge.

"Have the weapons ready and the shields up" Ordered the admiral. "How goes the charge on our ArcaCannons?" He asked to an altmer officer, who was checking the status of ship's weapons.

Near the ships core, a group of robed mages were channeling all of their power to a giant crystal, which in return transferred the magical energy to the great cannon at the ship's bow.

"Seventy-three percent and charging my lord"

"Tell me when it's ready, I want to hit those bastards with everything we've got"

"Fifteen seconds to exit FTL!" Announced once more the breton.

"This is it men, the liberation of Shaxi starts now!" The Battle-Jarl's voice boomed through the bridge. "Divines guide you all!"

The fleet exited from FTL, the Crusader, a imperator-class dreadnaught leading the fight, its magnificent two point three kilometers figure covered in shining silver colored plantings, the imperial symbol painted proudly over both of the ship's sides.

As soon as both fleets met, the battle for Shanxi had truly begun.

* * *

_Codex: _

_Kiryan Crystals: Created out of the same material as soul gems, in the year E5 1698, the crystals have a wide range of uses. Such as communication, magic, spell, enchantment, and even memories storage, the crystal has proven to be useful for many centuries and it will undoubtedly still be for millenniums to come as new uses for them are still being discovered. _

_Erandur, close friend to the Dragon Queen, has filled many crystals containing with his own memories. All of them about the Reginleif's reign and some of her adventures, this has allowed many to witness history as it truly happened. _

_ArcaCannons: The Arcane Cannons, most commonly known as ArcaCannons, are, as the name suggests, weapons that fire pure destructive arcane energy. They are powered by giant Kiryan Crystals which need at least twenty mages to properly charge, the result is a powerful arcane shots that can destroy a frigate in one shot. The drawback it's the long time it takes them to be fully charged._


End file.
